2013 MLB Spring Training officially starts today, with the Chicago Cubs' and Colorado Rockies' pitchers and catchers reporting to their respective Cactus League camps in Arizona. The first teams to report to Grapefruit League team facilities in Florida will arrive tomorrow, with eight teams starting their organized pre-season routines.
The Cubs were one of two teams in Major League Baseball (and the NL Central) with 100 losses in 2012, so there is plenty of room to grow. The new two-headed monster in the front office-- President Theo Epstein and GM Jed Hoyer-- made some changes to the roster, some of which were unexpected. That tandem is used to making such waves from its championship-winning days in Boston. In the second year at the helm in Chicago, the Cubs are at the beginning of the rebuilding phase, with few high-salary players remaining on the team.
To stabilize a top-heavy rotation, the Cubs signed starting pitcher Edwin Jackson in the off-season. Jackson made 31 starts for the Washington Nationals and logged almost 200 innings. His ERA in a much stronger division was 4.03, though the central won't be nearly as bad with games against the Houston Astros (the other 100-loss team in 2012) to pad the stats. Jackson has been one of the most effective under-the-radar pitchers over the last four seasons, so his presence every fifth day will prevent some of the weaker arms in the high minors from reaching the majors too soon.
Chicago will also get Matt Garza back from an injury, which will certainly make the team more competitive in most of his starts. Garza's elbow issue shelved him last July, just before the trade deadline. Since the Cubs aren't close to contending, he was expected to be moved. That means that a healthy first half of the season could earn Chicago quite the return in a trade, with teams deciding their statuses near the July 31st date.
Cubs fans shouldn't expect the team to be at or near .500 this season, but there are still some exciting players to watch at Wrigley Field in the summer of 2013. Starlin Castro should be even better than his .283 batting average showed last season. Castro reached career-highs in games played (all 162), triples (12), home runs (14), RBI (78), stolen bases (25) and walks (36) while being named to the National League All-Star Team in July. Castro will be in the bigs for just the fourth year this time around, and have some decent protection around him in the lineup. Alfonso Soriano set a Cubs-career-high in RBI with 108 this past year, and hit 30-plus homers for the second time as a Wrigley outfielder.
FOX Sports brings the top ten spring training story lines for 2013 to the forefront here (with photos).
Spring Training Camp Report Dates
Cactus League
Pitchers and Catchers Report
Monday, Feb. 11: Chicago Cubs & Colorado Rockies
Tuesday, Feb. 12: Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Oakland A's
Wednesday, Feb. 13: Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers
Full Squad Workouts Begin
Friday, Feb. 15: Arizona Diamondbacks, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Saturday, Feb. 16: Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers
Sunday, Feb. 17: Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Colorado Rockies, Oakland A's
Grapefruit League
Pitchers and Catchers Report
Tuesday, Feb. 12: Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros, Miami Marlins, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals
Wednesday, Feb. 13: Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays
Thursday, Feb. 14: Washington Nationals
Full Squad Workouts Begin
Friday, Feb. 15: Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, Miami Marlins, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals
Saturday, Feb. 16: Houston Astros, Minnesota Twins, Philadelphia Phillies
Sunday, Feb. 17: Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays, Washington Nationals
Monday, Feb. 18: New York Mets, New York Yankees
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